Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has finally unveiled its answer to Apple Pay—Android Pay. Basically, Android Pay looks like a clone of Apple Pay; it’s an app that lets you take money directly from your bank account or credit card balance and use it to pay in stores or apps.

Not surprisingly, Android Pay seems to have many of the same strengths and weaknesses as Apple Pay. Like Apple Pay, it allows for seamless payment, but also like Apple Pay, it is at the mercy of retailers. The list of retailers that actually accepts Android Pay, like the list of stores that accepts Apple Pay, is very limited.

Another problem is that Android Pay can only be used in one country, the United States. Currently, Apple Pay can only be used in the United States and the United Kingdom, although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is working hard to get it accepted in the People’s Republic of China. There is still no word on when either solution will be available elsewhere in the world, such as Japan, Canada, or the European continent.

Payment Options on Android Pay

Android Pay does have one big advantage over Apple Pay; it can be integrated with the Discover Card right now. Apple claims that it will accept Discover, but it has not said when that will happen. Note: shortly after I wrote this article Apple Pay started accepting the Discover Card, because of the competition.

Currently, Android Pay users have the following payment options:

Visa (NYSE: VA)

MasterCard (NYSE: MA)

Discover Financial – the Discover Card (NYSE: DFS)

American Express or Amex (NYSE: AXP)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)

Citi or Citigroup (NYSE: C)

Navy Federal Credit Union

PNC

Regions Bank

USAA, a federal credit union

US Bank or US Bancorp (NYSE: USB)

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)

As you can see, the number of banks you can access through Android Pay is limited, although that will undoubtedly change. Capital One is listed as “coming soon.” Interestingly enough, banks and credit card companies seem to be more open to payment apps than retailers are probably because of the fees they want to make from these solutions.

One glaring omission that should be there is PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL), which controls Venmo. Another is Square Inc. If Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) could integrate Android Pay with them, it would make a lot more money. This would also give Android Pay a major advantage over Apple Pay, which does not have PayPal either.

Another glaring omission from the list of Android Pay options is JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), another of the big monster banks. My guess is that more financial institutions, including many local, regional and national banks and credit unions, will be added as the service expands. The number of banks that utilize Apple Pay has exploded since it appeared.

Who Actually Accepts Android Pay?

Now to answer the most important question: Which retailers actually accept Android Pay? As with Apple Pay, the list is very limited but growing, and many of the biggest names in American retail, including Walmart Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale, CVS Health, Kroger, Target, Home Depot and Safeway/Albertsons, are conspicuously absent.

The current list of businesses that accept Android Pay at their physical locations includes the following:

Acme – Albertsons’ Philadelphia-area subsidiary

Aeropostale

American Eagle Outfitters

AT&T – the phone and wireless company formerly known as Bell South

Babies R Us

Basha’s – a chain of supermarkets in Arizona and California

BJ’s Wholesale Club

Bloomingdales

Champs’ sports bars

Some Chevron gas stations

Some Coca-Cola vending machines

Davis Food & Drug – a chain of supermarkets in Utah

The Disney Store

Duane Reade drugstores

Express – a chain of clothing stores

FoodMaxx – a chain of warehouse supermarkets found in California

Footaction USA

Foot Locker

Fuddruckers’ restaurants

GameStop

The Golden State Warriors NBA franchise

House of Hoops by Footlocker

Jamba Juice

Jet Blue

Jewel Osco pharmacies

Kids Foot Locker

Lady Foot Locker

The Lego Store

Lins’ Fresh Market – another Utah supermarket chain

Lucky – a chain of supermarkets in California

Macy’s

McDonalds

Meijer – a chain of superstores found in the Midwest

Nike stores

Office Depot

The Orlando Magic, another NBA franchise

Panera Bread

Peet’s Coffee & Tea

Pep Boys auto centers

Some Pepsi vending machines

Petco

The Phoenix Suns NBA franchise

Rubio’s Mexican Grill

Save Mart Supermarkets

Shaw’s – a chain of supermarkets in New England

Star Market – a subsidiary of Shaw’s

Six:02 – a chain of women’s fitness clothing stores

Sports Authority

Sprouts Farmers Market

Staples

Subway

Some Texaco gas stations

T-Mobile Wireless

Toys R Us

United Supermarkets – an Albertsons’ subsidiary in Texas and Oklahoma

Unleashed by Petco

USA Technologies

Verizon

VG’s Fresh Market – a chain of supermarkets in Michigan

Walgreens

Walt Disney World

Wegmans’ supermarkets

Whole Foods Market

Winn Dixie supermarkets

Interestingly enough, there is not a coming soon section for stores on the Android Pay site as there is on Apple Pay. Nor is there any indication how many of these retailers’ locations actually accept Android Pay yet.

Another potential drawback is that is does not say whether drivers will be able to pay for gas at the pump or not. Persons that want to use Android Pay at gas stations may have to go inside.

A major selling point for Android Pay would be to add gas station credit cards to its system. Acceptance by the major gas stations could be critical for payment apps’ success as could acceptance by the major supermarket chains. Kroger (NYSE: KR), for example, is the nation’s largest grocer and its third largest operator of filling stations.

Another means of attracing new customers would be to find some way to integrate Android Pay with loyalty card programs like that offered by the various Kroger supermarkets. This program allows customers to save 1¢ a gallon on fuel for every $100 worth of groceries they buy. Other popular programs are offered at Safeway and Walgreens.

What Apps Can You Use Android Pay On?

The number of apps you can use Android Pay on is pretty limited. Interestingly enough, as with Apple Pay, some restaurants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Domino’s accept Android Pay at their apps but not in their physical locations. Here are the apps that accept Android Pay:

Airbnb

B&H

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Domino’s Pizza

Dunkin Donuts

Yelp’s Eat 24

Etsy

Eventbrite

Expedia

Groupon

GrubHub

Hotel Tonight

Jack Threads

Living Social

Lyft

Newegg

OpenTable

Priceline

Seamless

Spring

Trip Advisor

Uber

Wish

Two glaring omissions here are Amazon.com and eBay. It is also not clear if app payment on Android Pay works yet or not because the app list has the words “This feature is coming soon” posted underneath it.

Finally, I do not see Google’s own Shopping Express or Google Play mentioned in the apps you can use Android Pay upon. One would think that Google would take advantage of that source of revenue.

It looks as if Android Pay is poised to give Apple Pay a good run for its money, but it seems to have many of the same limitations as its predecessor. It looks like getting Americans to accept and utilize payment apps is going to be a longer and harder process than many people think.